1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a system and method for providing and processing or using a card associated to its own services and associated to other cards with their own services, and, in particular, to a system and method for overloading an existing card so that services of the existing card and services for other cards may be selectively or programmatically processed or used by having to only use the existing card. Still particularly, the present invention relates to a display or display area for an overloaded card.
2. Description of the Related Art
A person may typically carry a various number of cards, such as credit cards, driver""s license card, membership cards, etc., with him or her. However, the carrying of so many cards may be quite cumbersome and bulky for a person. For example, the large number of cards may cause a person""s wallet to bulge. Also, the tasks of managing and tracking so many cards may become quite a hassle or burden.
Various types of universal cards or smart cards have been developed to integrate convenience and usability of multiple cards of a user into a single card. For these types of universal cards or smart cards, a generic universal card or generic smart card is provided, and the card services from all the different cards that a person owns is associated and programmed to the single universal card or smart card. The single generic card is generally used to integrate card services from various cards, and the card itself has no other functions or inherent operations. Some of these universal cards or smart cards require changing, updating, and/or maintaining of stored data on the cards themselves or may require the informing of the card service providers of the various cards regarding the integration of the cards to the universal card or smart card. Furthermore, some of these universal cards or smart cards require a power source to maintain, store, and/or display the data on the card. U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,232 to Taylor; U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,055 to Kashkashian Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,027 to McNeely et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,523 to Gatto; U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,936 to Opel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,311 to Hennige; U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,040 to Lalonde provide examples of such universal cards or smart cards.
However, the problem with universal cards or smart cards is that they require the providing of the additional generic cards that are not themselves inherently functional or operational cards. For authentication purposes, a vendor or business establishment may not simply accept the universal card or smart card on its face value and may still require seeing and verifying the existence of the actual, real card itself that has been integrated into the universal card or smart card. This requirement defeats one of the main purposes of having a universal card or smart card since the person would still have to carry the cards that were integrated into the single universal card or smart card in the event of an authentication or verification request.
Various reasons, such as advertising, account information, transaction information, security information, etc., exist for providing a display on a card. Providing a display for a card, such as a card that is wallet size (i.e. credit card, debit card, membership card, identification card, driver""s license, etc.), may be cumbersome and inconvenient. The display may require its own independent power source. The display may be bulky and intrusive for card holders and users to carry.
Flexible flat sheet displays presently exist. One example of a flexible flat sheet display is a flexible black and white display. The display comprises a silicone sheet embedded with an array of electrically charged and maneuvered balls, which are electrets. Each ball or electret is colored white on one side and black on the other side. The sheet is impregnated with oil or other suitable fluid so that the balls are able to be freely rotated. Ser. No. 09/213,316 discloses such a flexible sheet display, and is incorporated by reference herein An electric field is applied in a particular manner to each ball so that it rotates to either show the respective white or black side. A desired display of information is able to be created thereon by simply controlling the manner of how the balls are charged and rotated to desired positions.
It would therefore be advantageous and desirable to provide a system and method for overloading an existing card having its own card service with at least one other card service of at least one other card to provide an overloaded card with overloaded card services and to provide a display on such an overloaded card. It would further be advantageous and desirable to provide an overloaded card information display that comprises the silicone sheet with electrostatically charged balls or electrets to provide a desired display of information thereon. It would also be advantageous and desirable to provide an overloaded card information display to provide and display various types of information such as advertising, account information, transaction information, security information, etc.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a system and method for overloading an existing card having its own card service with at least one other card service of at least one other card to provide an overloaded card with overloaded card services and to provide a display on such an overloaded card.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an overloaded card information display that comprises the silicone sheet with electrostatically charged balls to provide a desired display of information thereon.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an overloaded card information display to provide and display various types of information such as advertising, account information, transaction information, security information, etc.
The foregoing objects are achieved as is now described. A system and method of providing and using an overloaded card with overloaded card services and displaying information on the overloaded card. A card structure provides an existing card having an associated card service and further having at least one associated service of at least one other card that is used by a card user. A display is coupled to the card structure for displaying desired information on the overloaded card. The overloaded card display comprises a silicone sheet used as a display for the information on the overloaded card, an array of electrostatically chargeable balls embedded within the silicone sheet wherein each of the balls has a white side and a black side, and oil or other fluid impregnated within the silicone sheet so that the balls are able to freely rotate therein. An electric charge is applied to each of the balls so that the each of the balls is in a desired position to display the information on the overloaded card. Power is not required for the display. Multiple displays may be provided for each overloaded card. The card is read by a reader at a card terminal, and an array of electrodes that charge and manipulate the balls face the display to charge them so that images programmed at the electrodes are left thereon. The array of electrodes acts as a writer for the display.
The above as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.